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Through two and a half quarters, the Cleveland Cavaliers seemed in command of the series opener with the Atlanta Hawks. However, Atlanta stormed back towards the end of the third and pulled within 4 points. By the fourth quarter, they?d taken a lead against a Cavs team that seemed on cruise control the entire time.
This is when Cleveland woke up and made some key plays down the stretch to grab the lead back and win by double digits. Perhaps the most-important play during this run was LeBron James? three-point play with 2:09 left. The Cavs never looked back and ended up with a 104-93 victory.
This win gives Cleveland 9 straight postseason victories over the Hawks. So can Atlanta finally put together a great performance against the Cavs and end this streak? If not, can they at least beat the spread? Let?s answer these questions below by discussing Game 2 of this series.
GTBets.eu line for Game 2 (May 4 at 8:00pm EST)
Atlanta (-110)
Cleveland -7 (-110)
Why the Hawks will beat the Spread
Last year, Atlanta was primarily known for their four All-Stars, Jeff Teague, Kyle Korver, Al Horford and Paul Millsap. This season, only Millsap and Horford ended up on the All-Star team, but the Hawks seem deeper since other players are emerging.
paul-millsapAside from Millsap, who had 17 points and 13 rebounds, Atlanta?s two most-effective players were Kent Bazemore (16 pts on 6-of-14 shooting) and Dennis Schroder (27 pts on 10-of-20 shooting). Mike Scott also made important contributions by scoring 7 points on a perfect 3-of-3 shooting.
We don?t expect this trio to carry the Hawks throughout the series; however, if Bazemore, Schroder and/or Scott keep stepping up, then the Cavaliers will have more to contend with than just the four high-profile players.
One more point worth mentioning is that Atlanta got open three-pointers ? they just didn?t knock them down (11-for-34). If this changes in Game 2, then the Hawks could get the extra push they need to win in Cleveland.
Why Cleveland will beat the Spread
Coming off eight days? rest, the Cavs didn?t look too rusty as they bolted out to a large lead early on. The Hawks would continue cutting this lead to between 8 and 12 points, however, they never seemed like a real threat throughout most of the contest. It was only until Cleveland was losing in the fourth that they truly seemed to step up and play their best basketball.
kevin-love-cavsThis second gear should worry Atlanta since the Cavs can improve their performance at any moment. This especially seems to be the case for James, who came up with big baskets when his team needed them most.
Another thing worth adding is that Cleveland won by 11 points despite an off-night from Kevin Love, who was just 4-of-17 with 17 points. It?s unclear how healthy Love will be for Game 2 after banging his shoulder against Bazemore on a three-point attempt. But if he can play 100% and play well, then Cleveland has even more reason to expect a dominating win.
We can?t forget the Cavs? three-point shooting, of course, which has been near Golden-State-Warriors level over the last few months. Cleveland was 15-of-31 overall from three-point range, with Kyrie Irving (3-for-5) and Jr Smith (4-for-7) leading the way. If the Cavs? hot shooting continues, combined with James? dominating drives, this series may not last past four games.
Prediction for Cavs vs Hawks Game 2
kyrie-irving-cavsHawks stars Millsap (6-for-19), Horford (4-for-13), Teague (2-for-9) and Korver (0-for-1) did not shoot their best last game. We certainly don?t expect all four players to have such bad-shooting performances in Game 2, meaning the contest will be closer throughout. However, the key thing to remember here is that Cleveland is still the better team, and they?re playing at home. So while we expect a more-entertaining game, the Cavs will still win by a decent margin.
Through two and a half quarters, the Cleveland Cavaliers seemed in command of the series opener with the Atlanta Hawks. However, Atlanta stormed back towards the end of the third and pulled within 4 points. By the fourth quarter, they?d taken a lead against a Cavs team that seemed on cruise control the entire time.
This is when Cleveland woke up and made some key plays down the stretch to grab the lead back and win by double digits. Perhaps the most-important play during this run was LeBron James? three-point play with 2:09 left. The Cavs never looked back and ended up with a 104-93 victory.
This win gives Cleveland 9 straight postseason victories over the Hawks. So can Atlanta finally put together a great performance against the Cavs and end this streak? If not, can they at least beat the spread? Let?s answer these questions below by discussing Game 2 of this series.
GTBets.eu line for Game 2 (May 4 at 8:00pm EST)
Atlanta (-110)
Cleveland -7 (-110)
Why the Hawks will beat the Spread
Last year, Atlanta was primarily known for their four All-Stars, Jeff Teague, Kyle Korver, Al Horford and Paul Millsap. This season, only Millsap and Horford ended up on the All-Star team, but the Hawks seem deeper since other players are emerging.
paul-millsapAside from Millsap, who had 17 points and 13 rebounds, Atlanta?s two most-effective players were Kent Bazemore (16 pts on 6-of-14 shooting) and Dennis Schroder (27 pts on 10-of-20 shooting). Mike Scott also made important contributions by scoring 7 points on a perfect 3-of-3 shooting.
We don?t expect this trio to carry the Hawks throughout the series; however, if Bazemore, Schroder and/or Scott keep stepping up, then the Cavaliers will have more to contend with than just the four high-profile players.
One more point worth mentioning is that Atlanta got open three-pointers ? they just didn?t knock them down (11-for-34). If this changes in Game 2, then the Hawks could get the extra push they need to win in Cleveland.
Why Cleveland will beat the Spread
Coming off eight days? rest, the Cavs didn?t look too rusty as they bolted out to a large lead early on. The Hawks would continue cutting this lead to between 8 and 12 points, however, they never seemed like a real threat throughout most of the contest. It was only until Cleveland was losing in the fourth that they truly seemed to step up and play their best basketball.
kevin-love-cavsThis second gear should worry Atlanta since the Cavs can improve their performance at any moment. This especially seems to be the case for James, who came up with big baskets when his team needed them most.
Another thing worth adding is that Cleveland won by 11 points despite an off-night from Kevin Love, who was just 4-of-17 with 17 points. It?s unclear how healthy Love will be for Game 2 after banging his shoulder against Bazemore on a three-point attempt. But if he can play 100% and play well, then Cleveland has even more reason to expect a dominating win.
We can?t forget the Cavs? three-point shooting, of course, which has been near Golden-State-Warriors level over the last few months. Cleveland was 15-of-31 overall from three-point range, with Kyrie Irving (3-for-5) and Jr Smith (4-for-7) leading the way. If the Cavs? hot shooting continues, combined with James? dominating drives, this series may not last past four games.
Prediction for Cavs vs Hawks Game 2
kyrie-irving-cavsHawks stars Millsap (6-for-19), Horford (4-for-13), Teague (2-for-9) and Korver (0-for-1) did not shoot their best last game. We certainly don?t expect all four players to have such bad-shooting performances in Game 2, meaning the contest will be closer throughout. However, the key thing to remember here is that Cleveland is still the better team, and they?re playing at home. So while we expect a more-entertaining game, the Cavs will still win by a decent margin.
